2012 Comptche Ridge Vineyards Pinot Noir Mendocino County 750 ml

A Grand Cru on Comptche Ridge Mendocino County

Every great Pinot Noir is drawn from a remarkable vineyard site. Clos Vougeot and La Tâche in the Côte de Nuits. Le Corton on the Côte de Beaune. In California, there are precious few “Grand Cru” parcels. The Weir brothers’ dry-farmed Comptche Ridge, perched at 857 feet, is one of them, and in the hands of Anthony Filiberti of Anthill Farms (who worked a stint at Williams-Selyem and almost a decade at Knez), gave birth to one of the most extraordinary and highly rated American Pinot Noirs of the superb 2012 vintage. In his 94-point review, Antonio Galloni called it “wonderfully layered and sensual in the glass,” adding, “the 2012 Pinot Noir Comptche Ridge is all about texture, silkiness and polish.” At $39.99 a bottle — a rare steal for a wine of this pedigree — 45 cases will disappear in a hurry.

In 1996, John and Mark Weir settled in the tiny town of Comptche. The property they bought — a natural clearing in the spectacular redwood forests — was wild and all but untouched, somehow lost in time.

The Weirs planted a small vineyard in a natural ridge clearing, opting for four distinct clones — Swan, and Dijon 115, 828, and 667. A few years later, three young winemakers who had been crafting some of America’s greatest cult Pinot Noirs at Williams-Selyem were told about Comptche Ridge Vineyard. Since 2006, few American Pinot Noirs have been harder to find and more in demand than the trio’s Anthill Farms Pinot Comptche Ridge.

We remember calling Anthony and his partners, David Low and Webster Marquez, in 2007 in the early days of Wine Access, asking for a small allocation of the tiny-production, single-vineyard Anthill Farms Pinot Noirs. We were already too late. Rich, vibrant, and fabulously age-worthy, nearly every bottle that wasn’t ticketed for the likes of The French Laundry, Le Bernardin, or Mina was earmarked for the Anthill Farms mailing list.

Five years later, in the superb 2012 vintage on the coast, the Weir brothers decided to make a few cases of Comptche Ridge Pinot Noir for themselves. Their first call, not surprisingly, went to Anthill Farms. From there, Anthony Filiberti worked his cellar magic.

The result is absolutely breathtaking, standing shoulder to shoulder with top single-vineyard bottlings from Kistler, Occidental, Kosta Browne, and Dumol. Brilliant, vivid ruby to the rim, the 2012 Comptche Ridge is infused with mouth watering aromas of black cherry, raspberry, plum, and anise, faintly tinged with vanilla.

Jonathan Cristaldi

Editor-in-Chief, Wine Access